chapter 174 part 1
Chapter 174: Meeting Orochimaru Again, The Kagune's Progress
Outside a casino in the Land of Rice Fields, Uchiha Ren and Might Guy looked expectantly toward the entrance.
When they saw Kurenai lift the curtain, walk out, and shake her head, they both knew it was a wasted trip.
Kurenai shook her head helplessly. "'The Legendary Sucker,' Lady Tsunade, hasn't appeared in any of the Land of Rice Fields' casinos for a month. She must have gone somewhere else."
"Where could she have gone?" Might Guy mused, stroking his chin.
"No matter where she goes, no matter which country, her final destination will always be a casino," Uchiha Ren added.
"Yosh!" Might Guy's bright white teeth flashed under the sun at Kurenai and Uchiha Ren, nearly blinding them. He pointed toward the end of the road. "Let's move out!"
"Wait a moment."
Uchiha Ren stopped Guy. "Let's rest in the Land of Rice Fields for a day. The casinos are mostly in fixed locations. Next, we'll be heading around the border to the Land of Frost, so we need to purchase some supplies. At the very least, we need to buy a set of winter clothes. It's best to be fully prepared before we leave."
Kurenai also nodded. "That's right."
"Yosh!" Might Guy gave a thumbs-up and grinned. "As expected of Kakashi's student! You think of everything! With you on this mission, we'll definitely complete it! Just thinking about Kakashi recovering gets me fired up! Aaaah! I'm going to run a hundred kilometers first! And then again!" With that, he dashed away like a gust of wind, disappearing at the end of the street in the blink of an eye.
"..." Uchiha Ren and Kurenai watched him go, then looked at each other and gave a wry smile.
Afterward, Uchiha Ren looked at Kurenai and asked politely, "Kurenai-sensei, how about you take care of purchasing the food, and I'll buy the clothes?"
Kurenai thought of Sarutobi Hiruzen's instructions before they left, hesitated for a moment, and said, "Um, let's go together."
Uchiha Ren smiled and nodded, readily agreeing, "Alright! Together it is!"
Just like that, Kurenai and Uchiha Ren arrived at a bustling commercial street in the Land of Rice Fields.
Shops lined both sides of the street, which teemed with people. The sounds of hawking and haggling rose and fell in a lively chorus.
Kurenai walked straight to a shop selling dried goods and carefully selected a special type of rice paste that didn't freeze easily. This rice paste was nutritious and easy to preserve, an essential food for long journeys.
As she placed the rice paste on the counter to pay, her shinobi instincts made her suddenly turn her head. To her astonishment, she discovered that Uchiha Ren, who had been right behind her, was gone!
Kurenai's heart skipped a beat, and a sense of foreboding washed over her.
"Could it be... that kid has defected?"
Just as she was filled with suspicion and anxiety, she suddenly spotted a piece of paper on the floor.
She hurriedly bent down to pick it up. Unfolding it, she saw that it was from Uchiha Ren.
It read: Kurenai-sensei, I'm stepping out for a bit. Don't worry about me. I'll catch up with you guys later.
Kurenai put the note down, but the worry in her eyes did not diminish in the slightest.
Because finding Tsunade on this mission was secondary.
The primary objective was to prevent Uchiha Ren from defecting.
Upon stepping into the Hidden Sound Village, a sinister and eerie aura washed over him.
The surrounding buildings were constructed in a haphazard manner, their style vastly different from ordinary villages.
The houses were predominantly dark in tone, their walls covered with moss and unknown vines. The tall towers were twisted into strange shapes with sharp, pointed tops, like fangs ready to pierce the sky at any moment. They cast long shadows under the gray sky, creating an intense feeling of oppression.
A faint mist lingered on the streets, blurring one's vision. Occasionally, a few Sound Ninja in black robes would hurry past, their steps light and their figures phantom-like.
Uchiha Ren walked forward steadily, his gaze sweeping across his surroundings.
Just then, a ghastly white bone shot past his ear like a hidden weapon. The sharp sound of it piercing the air was particularly jarring in the silent atmosphere.
As if he had expected it, Uchiha Ren didn't even turn his head. He simply tilted his body slightly to dodge the bone's trajectory and spoke calmly to Kimimaro behind him, "Is this how you repay your savior?"
Kimimaro's expression was as cold as an ice sculpture. Without any unnecessary pleasantries, he responded in a flat tone, "Lord Orochimaru has been waiting for you for a long time." With that, he turned and walked ahead, signaling for Uchiha Ren to follow.
Seeing this, Uchiha Ren followed Kimimaro at a steady pace to a seemingly ordinary room.
Kimimaro walked to a corner of the room and stopped before a hidden compartment. He reached out and lightly pressed a mechanism. The floor slowly opened, revealing a pitch-black entrance.
Kimimaro jumped in first, and Uchiha Ren followed closely behind without hesitation.
They advanced along a long, narrow underground passage. Initially, the passage was cramped and the walls were damp, with water dripping from the ceiling from time to time.
But as they walked, their field of vision gradually widened.
A vast and sinister biological laboratory suddenly appeared before them!
Inside the lab, the light was dim. Rows of giant glass jars lined the walls, filled with the preserved bodies of various creatures. There were bizarrely shaped animals and incomplete human corpses. The pungent smell of formalin permeated the air, making one want to vomit.
Uchiha Ren's gaze slowly swept across the room. In one of the jars, he saw a horse with a strange horn. The horse's eyes were wide open, as if it had suffered immense pain before death. Seeing this bizarre creation, Uchiha Ren couldn't help but frown.
It seemed that all the experimental results in this hall originated from the Kagune.
Sure enough, following his intuition, he soon saw the familiar Ukaku and Rinkaku.
But at this moment, the forms of these two things had undergone a shocking transformation!